Refreshing My Website!

The last time I redesign my website was 2008, and I had been meaning to update the design since about 2010, but client projects and a very full schedule have kept it on my to-do list until this year. While not a complete redesign of the site structure, I have changed a lot.

My new title is Instigator of Awesome! to demonstrate that not only do I do graphic design, but design consulting and art direction. It also conveys a sense of my personality better. I switched from the formal Futura to a casual script typeface, JB Bruno, for a more approachable feel. I ditched the heavy dark blue background for white to brighten up the whole site.

I moved my social media and website icons up to the top of the page so that folks could choose to view my portfolio or view my other website info first. I enlisted the help of my friend Annie, owner of the awesome stationery store, The Envelope, to clean up my bio and make it friendlier.

I also tweaked my self portrait illustration: softened a few lines here and there and made my smile a bit happier. I removed the geometric art deco background and replaced it with a watercolored textured background for a more hand-crafted feeling.

While I had intended to make additional pages and a place to sell my prints on this version of my site, I decided to leave it as is for now. This refresh was very refreshing and maybe on version 2012.2 I will incorporate some of my more grand ideas...

American Air Care

HVAC professional and my friend over at American Air Care didn't have a website. He'd tried working with designers in the past, but things just never seemed to work out. So late last year, he approached me to design his website. He didn't have much in the way of requirements: something that would feature his services and products along with contact information.

After researching the local competition and talking more with the owner, we decided that a one-page website would be the best bang for his buck. It would make it very easy for his customers to view their options and contact him without any of the unnecessary bells and whistles that added complexity and distraction like the local competitor websites.

The project moved slowly, but steadily until we had some issues with domain registration, which involved a name change for his business, but we were able to finally launch the site in June.

The client loves the finished site!

Sweet! nsquaredesign in print: Creative Workshop

I was pleased to learn that I was going to have one of my pieces featured in the new book, Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills by David Sherwin published by HOW Books. David put a call for willing designs to be sent one of his challenges. Each challenge had a time limit and you could pick a category. However, you didn't know your challenge until David sent it to you.

I worked on two challenges and both were fun and helped me think a bit differently than normal. David let me know that my challenge made it into the book, but I had to wait almost a year to see which one was chosen... :S

I'm very happy that my "Creature Feature" website concept was the one pick for the book since it was my favorite and I had a great time working on it.

Be sure to pick up a copy today to hear all about my process and see how the other designers handled their challenges!

Shameless Self Promotion, Part 2

I've just completed a redesign of The Easy Way Out website. The Easy Way out is a locally owned and operated personal chef service that caters to families and busy professionals. The previous site was not getting updated and did not have the structure necessary to accommodate new offerings such as the classes she teaches. Since the chef’s specialty is Latin American cuisine, I kept the color palette warm and drew the pattern by hand in illustrator to give a more authentic Latin American feel to the site.

I kept the design simple and clean to showcase large photos of the chef’s beautiful recipes. Although I disagree with the decision to choose the same red as the top and bottom friezes as well as the decision to remove the black border that would have distinguished the background from the active site area, I think the resulting site turned out very well. The chef is very pleased with the redesign; she felt that we successfully achieved the objectives outlined in the creative brief.

Below is a screengrab of my preferred version, visit www.theeasywayout.net to see the live site.